East Ridge reviews draft mobile food-truck ordinance; council asks for clearer limits on hours, distance and permits

Council members on Sept. 25 reviewed a substantially revised draft mobile food-truck ordinance intended to regulate temporary and permanent vendors across the city, including a designated 'food truck alley' overlay on Old Ringo Road.

Staff said draft 5 provides a regulatory framework for permitting, fire inspections, mobile-vendor permits, sanitation and taxation; it distinguishes canteen trucks (pre-prepared food) from trucks that cook on site and contemplates permanent 'parked' food-truck locations with property-owner permission. The draft includes a limit on continuous presence (two days was discussed), a 20-foot clearance from buildings for cooking units, and requirements for vendors to show a sales-tax registration number when applying for a permit.

Council members raised concerns about the two-day limit (difficulty for multi-day events), whether permanent vendors could unfairly compete with brick-and-mortar restaurants, enforcement and restroom requirements for vendors that serve customers on-site for extended periods. Staff said they can require restrooms if a vendor intends to provide more than three hours of seated service and that garbage and sanitation must be provided by the vendor or host property owner. Staff recommended returning a cleaned-up ordinance and authorizing the city attorney to draft formal ordinance language for council review on Oct. 9.

Council directed the attorney to draft an ordinance that clarifies hours, distance-from-business provisions, enforcement mechanisms (including fines and vendor removal), and sales-tax reporting requirements; staff will also consider whether certain permanent-location allowances require additional site restrictions.